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Key Constituency | Dinara is the hometown of JD(U)’s Minister of Department of Science and Technology, Jai Kumar Singh. He has won from here twice and is now looking for a hat-trick. Fighting against him on a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ticket is BJP rebel Rajendra Singh. Singh, who lost the last election by just 2,600 votes, is a former vice-president of BJP’s Bihar unit.
List of Key Constituencies | Among the key constituencies that go for polls today are Imamganj, Sasaram, Dinara, Gaya, Munger, Jamui, Mokama, Jamalpur, Chainpur and Buxar. Key candidates including- Jitan Ram Manjhi, Commonwealth shooter Shreyasi Singh, and Anant Kumar Singh of RJD will test their ground in Bihar.
In Picture | Union Minister Giriraj Singh casts his vote in Lakhisarai's Barhaiya.
Many booths in Lakhisarai's Suryagarha were malfunction due to which voting couldn't start. Similarly, voting couldn't start in Sararam's Dinara, Aurangabad and Gaya.
PM Modi Appeals Voters to Follow Covid-19 Measures | Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to voters in Bihar to take Covid-19 precautionary measures. He appealed the voters to case their votes using facial mask and social distancing.
बिहार विधानसभा चुनावों में आज पहले दौर की वोटिंग है।
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 28, 2020
सभी मतदाताओं से मेरा आग्रह है कि वे कोविड संबंधी सावधानियों को बरतते हुए, लोकतंत्र के इस पर्व में अपनी हिस्सेदारी सुनिश्चित करें।
दो गज की दूरी का रखें ध्यान, मास्क जरूर पहनें।
याद रखें, पहले मतदान, फिर जलपान!
Polling could not began in Sheikhpura's booth no 71 after EVM was malfunction. Voting also delayed in Jahanbad's Ghoshi assembly seat in booth no 15. Similar problems were reported from Jamui.
Giriraj Singh Casts Vote from Barhaiya | Union Minister Giriraj Singh cast his vote in Lakhisarai's Barhaiya. EVM malfunction reported from Gaya, Arwal and many other booths.
8 Sensitive Districts in First Phase | The first phase of polling for 71 constituencies and includes sensitive and Naxal-hit areas such as Rohtas, Kaimur, Jahanabad, Bhojpur, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda and Munger. In order to take precautions the authorities have seized illegal weapons, liquor and taken bonds from historysheeters.
1,066 Candidates on 71 Seats | Voting begins in Gaya. The first phase of Bihar assembly elections is underway as 1,066 candidates contest on 71 seats.
Security measures have been boost up in Aurangabad after IED bob was recovered near Dhibra police station area. The area has been put on alert.
Voting stopped after EVM malfunction in Belhar assembly on polling booth no 60. Similar incidents were reported from Jamui assembly seat where EVM malfunction was reported from booth no 287.
Voting begins in Jahanabad. Voting stopped in Sheikhpura area in booth no 64 after EVM malfunction.
EVM Malfunction Reported in Arwal, Nayagaon | EVM malfunction reported in Arwal Booth No-212. Faulty EVM led to delay in voting in Nayagaon too.
Tejashwi Yadav Makes Employment Pitch | RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said if voted to power he will raise the upper age limit for all categories of the BPSC aspirants, and also asserted his government will spend 22 per cent of the states budget on education. At his partys "Naukari Samwad" programme here, he also slammed the Centre for "privatising" every other sector in the country and said if voted to power he will end privatisation in Bihar. Tejashwi, who has been declared as the chief ministerial candidate of the opposition Grand Alliance, has been building up his poll campaign on the plank of jobs after announcing that if voted to power they would approve 10 lakh jobs in the government in the very first cabinet of the new government.
Chirag Paswan's Video Triggers Controversy | A purported video of LJP president Chirag Paswan rehearsing for a video message a day after the death of his father, one of the foremost Dalit leaders Bihar produced after Jagjivan Ram, has gone viral. The 37-year-old LJP chief, embarrassed over the development that came less than 24 hours before Bihar votes in the first phase of assembly polls, reacted with indignation and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of "stooping so low", suggesting that he suspected the JD(U) president's hand in the damaging video. In the nearly two-minute clip, shot before he got his head tonsured as a sign of bereavement, the Jamui MP can be seen standing in front of a garlanded portrait of his late father, donning white clothes worn as part of mourning.
Covid-19 Measures Taken | These guidelines include lowering the maximum number of voters for a polling booth from 1,600 to 1,000, staggering of polling hours and extending postal ballot facility for those above 80. Besides, sanitisation of electronic voting machines, wearing of masks and other protective gear by polling personnel and the availability of thermal scanner, hand sanitiser, soap and water has also to be ensured at polling stations.
HIGHLIGHT | Polling began in 71 assembly constituencies of Bihar in the first phase of three-phase elections amid tight security and Covid-19 guidelines in place. Of the nearly 2.15 crore electors eligible to exercise the franchise, 1.12 crore are male, 1.01 crore female and 599 are categorised as third gender, according to data provided by the Election Commission. Guidelines have been issued by the Commission for safe conduct of the electoral exercise in the midst of the raging Covid-19 pandemic.
READ | Caste, Jobs, Black Magic: Excess of Confusing Narratives as Bihar Votes in Phase 1 of Assembly Polls Today
Opinion polls show a clear lead for the ruling NDA. But, in Bihar, the pre-poll surveys have often differed with the post-poll results.
UPDATE | As the polling in the first phase of elections in Bihar is underway, two Improvised explosive devices were recovered and defused by Central Reserve Police Force from Aurangabad's Dhibra area today.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says that people in Bihar will vote for better future, education, health, employment and development. He appealed voters to come out and vote. 71 seats go to polls in the Bihar election for the first phase today.
आज प्रथम चरण के मतदान के दिन बिहारवासियों के बेहतर भविष्य, शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्य, नौकरी, विकास और नए दौर में नए बिहार के निर्माण के लिए अपने मताधिकार का प्रयोग अवश्य करे और महागठबंधन के साथ बदलाव के सहभागी बने।
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) October 28, 2020
जय हिंद। जय बिहार।
Giriraj Singh Reaches Polling Booth in Barhaiya | Union Minister Giriraj Singh reaches polling booth no 33 in Barhaiya to cast his vote. The voting machine had registered some issues, later the EVM machine was changed.
Voting Begins in Rohtas District | Polling begins on 7 assembly seats in Rohtas district. Voting has started in Chenari, Sararam, Kargahar, Dinara, Nokha, Dihri and Karakat seats. There are 3,212 polling booth in Rohtas.
Polling on First Phase in Bihar Today | Around 6,000 polling booths are being perceived as sensitive and highly-sensitive in Bihar where elections are scheduled for the first phase of assembly polls on October 28. Additional Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar said that of the total 31,380 booths, as many as 6,000 are sensitive or highly sensitive. Polling will start from Wednesday morning at 7 am and is scheduled to continue till 6 PM.
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